Glossary

1) Clamp

A below-the-hook attaching device which, using a jaw-like scissor gripping action, clamps or locks onto a piece of material. This device is attached to the hook of a hoist or the end effector of a manipulator and usually is used to pick up sheets of material such as wood or metal.

2) Indentation type pressure gripping lifter

A lifter that clamps the load and supports it by indenting the load in areas in contact with the lifter.

3) Friction type pressure gripping lifter

A lifter that clamps the load and supports it by friction without causing permanent deformation of the load.

4) Picker pallet

A pallet used in distribution operations wherein the center stringer or block is grabbed by a center clamp to steady the pallet enabling goods to be stacked on it at an elevated height.

5) Grab-a-block pallet

A pallet used in distribution operations wherein the center stringer or block is grabbed by a center clamp to steady the pallet enabling goods to be stacked on it at an elevated height. These types of pallets may be made of wood or plastic.

6) Thermoformed pallet

Thermoforming takes place when a thick plastic sheet is clamped onto a frame and heated, then this softened, pliable sheet is forced by either pressure or vacuum to adapt to the shape of a pallet tool.
Once the sheet has formed to the configuration of the tool and it has cooled down, it is removed from the frame. The outer perimeter of the pallet is trimmed off to yield the finished part.
Twin-sheet thermoforming is a variation of this process whereby two separate sheets of plastic are heated in two separate sets of tooling and then fused together under pressure to yield a pallet with a hollow section or sections.